Register your card to protect your balance

As soon as you receive your card, you should register it at prestocard.ca or complete a paper Presto registration form and mail it to the Presto Customer Service Centre. Registration lets you:

Transfer funds to a new card if your card is lost or stolen

Take one ride in overdraft (25-cent charge + cost of the trip)

Access your Transit Usage Report for tax credit purposes

Set your Presto card for a discount

Before you can take advantage of a fare discount (Senior, Child, Youth, or Community or Access Pass) for which you qualify, you need to bring your card and proof of eligibility [for a discount] to an OC Transpo Customer Service Centre. Once you have bought and setup your card, you’re ready to load it.

Replacing a lost or stolen card

If your card is registered, you can transfer your balance to a new card if it gets lost or stolen:

Report your card lost or stolen (can take up to 24 hours to be blocked on the readers – you are responsible for charges during this period)

Get a replacement card (card costs $, plus the minimum load of any pass or $10 in e-Purse funds)

Do not register your new card, set a concession (a fare discount) or load a pass because this would prevent the transfer of your information

Transfer your information by phone or online

Have your new card number at hand

Please note that until your new card is active and the transfer is complete, full fares must be paid using another valid payment method such as cash or tickets.

Load money into your Presto e-Purse

You need to load at least $10 at a time. Your e-Purse cannot contain more than $1,000. Card readers on the bus are updated at least three times a day. Be sure to leave enough time for your online purchase to get activated on the buses. Once loaded, you need to tap onto a card reader within 30 days to complete the transaction.

Autoload your card

Make sure your e-Purse never runs out of money by setting up Autoload:

Register your card

Set-up an Autoload contract at prestocard.ca

Choose the balance at which you want to reload

Choose the amount that will be loaded at each reload

Activate your Autoload contract by tapping onto a reader within 30 days

Load a pass onto your Presto card

You can load a monthly pass onto your card up to 14 days before the start of the month. Before you can ride with your pass, you need to activate it by tapping your card onto a PRESTO reader on or after the first day of the month. If you have not done so, your monthly pass is not valid and does not count as paid fare.

Autorenew your pass

Make sure you always have a pass loaded to your account by setting up Autorenew. Your payments will go through six days before the start of the month. Simply cancel Autorenew before the 20th day of the month to stop the following month’s pass from loading. At the start of the month, you need to tap your card as part of a regular trip to activate the load onto your PRESTO card. Until you have done so, your monthly pass is not valid and does not count as paid fare.

Use your card to ride

Using your card on OC Transpo buses and the O-Train

Once your card is loaded and ready to go, you can use it to pay for your travels. Whether it's pay per ride or monthly pass, always tap your card when boarding. The readers are located near the doors of buses and on the O-Train platform.
When you tap, Presto will instantly calculate the fare and deduct it from your account as needed.

If the screen goes green, your fare was accepted

If a red light goes on and you hear two beeps, the transaction did not go through. If this happens, pay the fare with cash or tickets and contact PRESTO.

If you ride without tapping (and your card isn't loaded with a valid pass or transfer), you may be fined.
Tapping every time also helps us better plan our service levels. We review the number of taps on our different routes and factor them in when we develop schedules.

Sharing your card

Lend your monthly pass

You can share your monthly Presto pass with someone else, who can use it when you aren’t. However, if your card is set for a discount (Senior, Child, Youth, or Community or Access Pass), you can only lend it to someone else who qualifies.

Use your card to pay for a second fare

If you pay-per-ride aboard a bus, you can use your e-Purse balance to pay the fares of others you are traveling with. Here’s what to do:

Board at the front of the bus

Let your driver know that you would like to pay an additional fare — if you are travelling with a child or a senior (ID may be required), let the operator know to receive a fare discount

Wait for your driver to hand you a Proof of Purchase (POP) transfer for your travel companion

Current system limitations only allow you to pay one fare at a time at the O-Train station using a Presto card. You can purchase a second person's fare from the vending machine using cash or a credit card.

Transferring

When you tap to pay your fare, you will be given a 90-minute transfer window. The time remaining on your transfer and the route type will be stored on your card. Simply tap onto a reader to see how long you have to transfer to another route (including STO routes) without paying.

Using Presto on Para Transpo

Para Transpo accepts Presto cards loaded with a monthly pass. As Para Transpo vehicles are not equipped with Presto readers, you will need to show proof of pass purchase (either an online confirmation, email receipt or in-person receipt) when you board. You cannot use your Presto e-Purse to pay for a Para Transpo trip. For this reason, Para Transpo cash fares have been lowered to line up with e-Purse fares.

Using Presto on STO routes

You can use your Presto pass and valid transfer to ride on all STO routes, without a fare top-up. Simply tap your card. You cannot use your e-Purse to start your trip on an STO route. If you’re boarding in Gatineau before 9 am, you have to use the OC Transpo Rider Card (issued by the STO to Ontario riders who provide proof of residency).

Do practically everything online at prestocard.ca

You can manage practically every aspect of your Presto account at prestocard.ca except setup your card for a discount (Senior, Child, Youth, or Community or Access Pass), which needs to be done in person at an OC Transpo Customer Service Centre.

You can use the Presto website to:

Order a New Card

Load Your Card

Register Your Card

If your card is registered, you can log onto prestocard.ca to:

Hotlist (block) your card

It takes 24 hours after reporting your card lost or stolen for it to be blocked on the bus. Fares deducted from your e-Purse in that time period cannot be recovered.